Wet, dry, or "steam" cleaning machines are not new. A single machine combining all the foregoing features is novel. Various manufacturers in the past have proposed systems to handle wet air/dirt mixtures alone or dry air/dirt mixtures alone or have a provision for "steam" cleaning, but none combine all three.
Generally, the motivating device has been of the form of an air pump, usually a centrifugal fan through which air is pumped. Under various conditions of air flow and/or water turbulence, droplets of water/soil mixture are caused to be drawn into the air pump which more often than not, result in permanent damage to the air pump fan, bearings and electrical parts of the motor. The motor may also be damaged by water being spilled on its cover and subsequently during a cleaning operation, this spilled water is drawn into the motor enclosure through ventilation openings.